Former Professional Baseball Players Association Chairman Lee Dae-ho’Pangong Cost Controversy’… Police innocent conclusion

Lee Dae-ho (39, Lotte Giants), who had been caught in controversy over the high-priced boards as chairman of the Korea Professional Baseball Players Association (hereinafter referred to as the Players Association), was freed from charges such as being abandoned for work.

According to the police on the 7th, the Seoul Seocho Police Department closed the case without sending related suspects, including Lee Dae-ho, former secretary general Kim Tae-hyun, and advisory lawyer Oh Dong-hyun, to the prosecution.

In December of last year, Lee Dae-ho was criticized for the ‘pangong fee’ he was the chairman of the athletes’ association. Regarding, he immediately held an official press conference and refuted that “I apologize for causing controversy regarding the Pangongbi, but some media reports are different from the facts.”

Lee Dae-ho, who was elected as the chairman of the Athlete’s Association from March 2019, was criticized by the public because it was revealed that he had received excessively increased boarding costs to his personal account.

The boarding cost of the athletes’ association rose from 24 million won to 60 million won just before Lee Dae-ho was elected as chairman. At that time, it was more than the KBO League’s minimum annual salary (27 million won). When the transparency controversy was raised, Lee Dae-ho explained that it was a customary practice, and that he had only used the public service fee.

However, on December 15, last year, the civic group’People and Movement’ filed a criminal charge with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on charges of appointing Lee Dae-ho, former secretary-general of athletes’ association Kim Tae-hyun, and advisory attorney Oh Dong-hyun.

The people and sports side said, “It is estimated that Lee Dae-ho received 60 million won per year, totaling 100 million won in the name of remuneration for the tenure of the Athlete’s Association Chairman, but the Articles of Association for the Athlete’s Association prohibits the payment of remuneration or salesmanship expenses for the executives. Therefore, Dae-ho Lee is guilty of misconduct. Is established,” he insisted.

He also pointed out that the former secretary general Kim Tae-hyun paid 88 million won to Lin, the law firm where the advisory attorney Oh Dong-hyun belongs, and asked for an accounting audit.

The case was transferred to the police at the end of last year, and it ended without charge after about three months.

The police explained that “the investigation was terminated because the crime was not specified.”